Published On : Fri, Jun 16th, 2017

Ashwin Mudgal, Municipal Commissioner strips zonal officers of powers to sanction building plans

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Nagpur: In a major happening in civic administration, the Municipal Commissioner has clipped the wings of Assistant Commissioners by stripping them of their powers to sanction building plans. Ashwin Mudgal, Municipal Commissioner, has withdrawn the powers delegated to zonal offices of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) in this regard.

Now, the entire process of sanctioning the building plans will be centralised and Town Planning Department will have all the powers in this regard. Mudgal recently issued directives in this regard. Zonal offices of NMC had powers to sanction building plans in case of plots upto 500 square metres, and also to issue occupation certificates and plinth-level certificates to builders.

Lokesh Chandra, the then Municipal Commissioner, had delegated the powers to zonal offices to sanction building plans in case of plots upto 200 sq mtrs. Later on Sanjay Sethi, the then Municipal Commissioner, delegated powers to sanction building plans for plots upto 500 sq mtrs to zonal offices. There were a lot of complaints regarding sanction of buildings plans. Also, the delegation of powers had affected zonal offices’ primary work like implementing cleanliness drive, collection of taxes, removal of illegal constructions under Section 53 and 54 of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act etc.

Now, as per the directions of Municipal Commissioner, commencement certificate for construction work upto 2,000 sq mtrs will be approved by Assistant Director of Town Planning, while the powers to sanction building plans in case of plots above 2,000 sq mtrs will be vested with Municipal Commissioner.

The permission for mobile tower will be given by Town Planner, Deputy Engineer; while Plinth Completion Certificate will be issued by Assistant Director of Town Planning for plot size above 2,000 sq mtrs. Town Planners and Deputy Engineers can issue plinth-level certificates for plots upto 2,000 sq mtrs.

Town Planners and Deputy Engineers will provide occupancy certificates in all cases. The powers to ‘release’ a plot will be delegated to Assistant Directors and Town Planners.

Recently, a meeting was held in Mumbai about approval of buildings plans by the engineers in various municipal corporations across the State. It was decided in the meeting that instead of engineers, Town Planners should sanction the building plans as they have in-depth knowledge of MRTP Act.

Mudgal has implemented the oral directions of higher-ups and has withdrawn the powers delegated to Assistant Commissioners and Zonal Offices.

Mudgal has directed the subordinate officials to religiously follow Development Control Rules (DCR). The permission of Municipal Commissioner is mandatory for sanctioning Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). The powers for grant of relaxation will be entrusted with Municipal Commissioner alone.

Meanwhile, Town Planning Department is working hard to start on-line submission and on-line approval of building plans. Maharashtra Government is preparing a software under ‘Ease of Doing Business’ initiative to clear the building plans without manual interference.